


The One where Spiers Cares

by HatlessHoneybee



Series: The Misadventures of Curahee Complex - (Hiatus do to personal reasons) [7]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Apartment AU, Fever, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 07:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14303574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HatlessHoneybee/pseuds/HatlessHoneybee
Summary: After a night out, Spiers finds Carwood with a cough. Naturally, the sickness progresses and it's up to Spiers to take care of Curahee Complexes resident mom friend.





	The One where Spiers Cares

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm sorry you guys had to wait. I hope you like this one. I know that I said I was gonna do Webgott next (which they will be next), but you guys asked for Spierton and I kept putting it off. When inspiration struck in the form of myself getting sick, which reminded me of Lipton getting sick, I had to write it down. I hope it lives up to the expectations.
> 
> I'd also like to thank you all who are giving me comments and kudos. You guys are so awesome and I love that you are enjoying my fics. Makes me super happy! :)
> 
> This is also self-edited so please excuse any typos and grammatical errors. I finished this at 3am while on cold meds.
> 
> As always, I do not own anything! Band of Brothers is the property of HBO. This fic is not intended to insult of insinuate anything about the real veterans of the 101st airborn. It is a complete work of fiction and based solely on the fictional versions portrayed by the actors in the series. I intend no offense! - Bee

It started with a cough. Part of Ronald Spiers' job was to be observant, to be in the know. You'd be hard pressed to find a secret that Spiers wasn't already privy to, especially when it concerned people he cared about. Which was why he did not miss the error in Carwood Lipton's behavior.

It was a friday night, innocuous in every way. There was a dinner planned between the men of the third floor. Everyone from Dick Winters to Bull Randalman was there. They ate steaks at a place across town, piling into Spiers' Expedition and Nixon's Nissan. There was whiskey and scotch passed around, though Dick and Spiers refrained as designated drivers. All seemed well as they came back to Curahee.

"I'm just saying that clearly there is something special about redheads that has caught this groups attention," Harry slurred as he stumbled up the stairs, leaning heavily in the railings. "Three out of seven of us are all nailing some gingers and I think that's strange. Does the attraction run in the family?"

"Family? Are we all brothers now?" Buck raised an eyebrow good-naturedly.

"Well, I mean, Dick is more like a dad. Which, I guess, makes Nixon our step-mom," Harry looked confused at his own explanation, earning a snort from Nixon.

"Wait, you said three of us were dating redheads," Nixon scrunched his nose up, grabbing Harry by the arm to try and help him up the stairs. They weren't even to the second floor yet.

"Yeah," Harry nodded vigorously. "Nixon is dating Dick, Buck is dating Malarkey, and Johnny is dating Bull."

"Whoah!" Johnny put his hands up.

"I ain't a redhead," Bull shook his head.

"Bull and I aren't together," Johnny looked at Harry as if he had a screw loose.

"Yes, you are. That answers both questions,"

"Actually, I think Bull is more strawberry blonde," Buck tilted his head, studying Bull's hair.

"That's code for 'red'," Nixon said.

"Wait, you guys aren't together?" Harry seemed truly baffled, though none of the others were. Spiers knew everything, thus he knew that Randalman and Martin were just roommates. Johnny and Bull both shook their heads, throwing confused looks at eachother. Harry whistled. "My life view has been altered."

"Come on, Harry," Dick rolled his eyes and grabbed Harry's other arm, helping him up the steps. They came to the second floor, everybody coming to a stop when Buck cleared his throat.

"This is my stop guys," Buck told them, ready to say his goodnights. "I've gotta give something to Don."

"'Give' something?" Nixon smirked, earning an eyeroll from almost everyone present.

"Yeah. Why else do you think I made Spiers' stop for a burrito from that gas station?" Buck lifted up the plastic bag in his hand. "He texted me, dying for one."

"Ah, gotta love the munchies," Nixon smirked.

"Legally, I can't know about that, so I will stop you right there and say -" Before Buck could finish the door to the second floor flew open, nearly hitting him in the head. A tired-looking Lipton stumbled through the opening, dark circles under his eyes and a pale complexion.

He looked startled to see the group of seven hanging out in the stairwell before he shook his head and frowned. "Sorry, guys. I need to get through."

There was echoes of 'sure, Lip' before, everyone moving to make room for the man. No one seemed to think twice about his appearance, Buck going into the hallway of the second floor and the rest ambling upstairs. Spiers slipped out on his own, in that quiet way that irked all his friends and frightened the rest of Curahee.

He opened the door to the first floor, finding Carwood dragging himself to the front door. "Carwood," He called, seeing the counselor stop and turn, curiosity written in his tired features.

"Spiers," Carwood greeted, bringing his hand up to stifle a cough.

"You feeling okay, Lipton?" Spiers was straight to it, concern taking over when he heard the rattle in Lipton's chest.

As always, Lipton shook his head, using the hand at his mouth to give a dismissive wave. "I'm fine, Spiers. Really."

"Ron," He corrected on instinct. "You can call me 'Ron'."

Lipton smiled, his eyes softening before he went into another coughing fit. "Sorry," He managed to gasp out before the fit subsided.

Ron's eyes were filled with worry as he looked over Lipton. "Have you seen a doctor? Maybe talked to Roe?"

"Ron, I'm okay. Really. It's just a little cough. I'm on my way to get some medicine right now."

Ron shook his head. "It's a little cold out, Carwood. You shouldn't be running outside with a cough. You should let me get it."

"Ron, I'm fine. I promise," Carwood's voice was firm, his hand up and close to Ron's chest. Spiers felt like he should have protested further, but Carwood seemed adamant and he respected him enough to back off when told. Ron nodded and Carwood was on his way.

 

That should have been the end of it, but things were never simple in Curahee. It was only a day later that Ron found himself in front of Carwood's door. He had the weekend off and that cough had been nagging at him all night.

He knocked, firmly and with a sense of purpose, like everything he did. There was some shuffling thumps on the other side and a muffled curse. Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing something resembling Carwood Lipton.

This creature was puffy-faced, snot-nosed, and tired-eyed. Carwood looked like someone had dragged all the healthy out of him and then rolled him in a vat of germs. "Well, that answers my question."

"Huh?" Lip rubbed at an eye, sniffling. Spiers was surprised to see that he was still dressed for work, despite everything.

"I was coming by to see how you were feeling. I think the answer is clear," Spiers reached forward and placed his hand on Carwood's forehead. It was hot to the touch. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"Just because I feel a bit achy doesn't mean the world stops," Carwood's voice was nasally. "I have patients I have to see."

"It's saturday."

"Some of my patients can't get in until saturdays," Carwood explained.

"Well, now they can't get in until next saturday," Spiers answered, ushering Carwood back into the apartment. There were protests from the other man, ignored by Spiers as he pushed the door closed behind them.

"Ron -"

"Carwood," Ron mimicked, herding him towards the bedroom. "You're gonna go get changed, call in sick, and sack out. I'm gonna get you some meds and put a call in to Roe."

"I have to work," Carwood tried again.

Ron pressed his lips into a flat line, trying to draw up his best scowl. The kind of scowl that sent most men running. It seemed to do little to Carwood Lipton, though Ron couldn't help but be glad for that. Carwood always saw through him and he honestly respected that.

"How useful would you be to your patients if you're sniffing and snotting all over them? Do you think they wanna get sick?" Ron tried for the guilt trip, watching as Carwood huffed and raised his hands in surrender. Spiers watched the man go into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Honestly, Spiers was hesitant to go out and get medicine. Leaving Carwood was dangerous, in the sense that he wouldn't put it past the counselor to make a break for it while he was out getting cold meds. But, he did know someone who was friendly with Carwood and eager to do almost anything. Pulling out his phone, Spiers shot off a quick text.

**Sent 8:46 AM to George Luz:** _Go to the store and get me flu medicine, gatorade, and chunky chicken noodle soup._

Lipton had come out of his bedroom by this point, clad in a pair of purple flannal pajama and a heavy, grey sweatshirt. The hood was bunched up around his neck to keep him warm. If he wasn't dripping with the flu, he would have been adorable.

"Can I get you anything?" Carwood asked, ever polite. Ron remembered him saying something about working at an Inn back home when he was younger. He probably learned to play the host there.

"No," Ron shook his head. "But you can get into bed. Go to sleep."

"I can at least do some things around the house. Go over files," Carwood tried. Ron's phone beeped, but the man ignored it for a moment, going over to Lipton.

"Carwood, go to sleep. Please," Ron tried, imploring him. He stopped talkingt to Lipton for a moment to take out his phone and read the text message.

**Recieved 8:59 AM from George Luz:** _Is this Spiers? Howd u get my number??? Are u sick?_

**Sent 9:01 AM to George Luz:** _Yes, this is Spiers. That's not important. No. Just go get what I need. It's for Lipton._

**Recieved 9:01 AM from George Luz:** _O if it's for Lip then cool. Be there in a flash_

Spiers put his phone back in his pocket and went to the kitchen. Lipton always kept things neat and tidy, kind of like Dick. He was able to find the tea quickly and warmed up a cup, putting honey in it before serving it to Carwood.

The other man was now laying on the couch, curled up and pointing the remote at the television. He clicked through channels until he came to a rerun of NCIS and left it on. Spiers was silent, slipping to the edge of the couch and putting the tea in front of Carwoods face. The sick man lifted his head and took the tea, muttering his thanks.

"The honey should help with your throat and stomach," Spiers told him, taking a seat on the armchair next to him.

"You don't have to stay," Carwood told him between sips of green tea. "I'm sure you have better things to do on a saturday than look after me while I'm sick."

"Better? Probably not. More important? Absolutely not," Spiers assured with his usual serious expression. Somehow that managed to coax a blush out of Carwood (or maybe it was the fever). The soft smile on his face, however, was definitely not the fever. "I'll stay, if you're okay with that."

"I'm okay with that," Carwood nodded.

The pair sat in silence for about fifteen minutes. Spiers was never a talkative man and Carwood knew that, accepted that. Besides, it would do no good for Lipton to strain his already sore throat for something as simple as small talk.

He was pretty sure that Carwood was nodding off, curled up again on the couch, this time with his hood pulled over his head. It was then that someone knocked on the door, causing Carwood to snap his eyes open. Spiers stopped him from getting up, going to the door himself. Tugging it open revealed George Luz on the outside.

"Hey, Spiers!" George grinned, earning a glare from Ron. "I got your stuff. How's Lip?"

Spiers looked at the plastic bag in George's hand, snatching it like a viper and looking through it. Everything seemed to be there. "Better with this. Roe is out with Heffron today, right?"

"Yeah," George confirmed. "Not 'out' out. They're just going shopping for Babe. He got hired by some regular at the bar to bartend an event and he's gotta get the whole black-tie thing -"

It only took a look from Spiers for George to stop rambling. "I want you to get Roe here the second he sets foot in this building."

"Understood, sir!" George gave a mock-salute and promptly had the door closed in his face.

Spiers spun on his heel and went into the kitchen, taking all the requested items out of a bag. He put the cans of soup in the cupboard and took out the meds, popping out the recommended dosage and taking them to Carwood with the gatorade. "Here. Take these and drink the gatorade. You need to replenish electroltyes."

"Thank you, doctor," Carwood smirked, taking the offered pills and popping them in his mouth. He washed them down with a few swallows of gatorade before he went back to shivering on the couch.

Spiers shook his head and went into the bedroom, taking one of the blankets from the bed and tugging it out into the living room. With a few quick movements, he had the blanket draped over Carwood's tense form, smoothing it out and giving Lipton's shoulder a squeeze. Lipton smiled, thank him and closed his eyes. Ron was content to let him rest.

 

The rest of the afternoon passed in the same fashion. Carwood hardly moved from the couch, except to go to the bathroom. Spiers mother-henned enough to make a helicopter mom proud, making sure that Carwood was taken care of. But he wasn't able to stave off the increasing fever that had Carwood shivering and mumbling under three blankets.

Thankfully, Eugene Roe arrived not long after the fever worsened, knocking politely on the door and passing by Spiers to go straight to Carwood. He had a bag in his hands, taking things out of it to check Carwoods temperature and listen to his breathing.

"It's the flu, far as I can tell. If you want further tests done he'll have to go to a clinic or his regular doctor," Roe explained, packing up his things. "His fever ain't high enough to be worryin', but if it increases you should take him to the emergency room. For now, lots of rest and fluids. A cold rag on the head might help."

"Thank you, Doc," Spiers nodded, finishing tucking the blankets around.Carwood.

"Let me know if you have to take him in," Roe slung the bag over his shoulder before he turned and cast a critical eye on Spiers. "You are stayin', right?"

"Absolutely," Spiers answered. He let Roe out, locking the apartment door to keep anyone from coming and trying to bug Carwood. It was dark out and he had already warned Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala to keep the noise down. He didn't expect a lot of trouble tonight.

Spiers went back to where Carwood was shivering, his muscles tense and his complexion ghostly. He knelt down by Carwood and placed his hand on Carwood's shoulder, bringing it up to his neck to rub at the tense muscles. "Carwood, wake up. You've got to get in bed."

Carwood mumbled an answer and Spiers took that as an assent, grabbing his blanket-bundled form and helping him into a sitting position. He then took Lipton's arm and tugged it around his shoulders, practically dragging Carwood into the bedroom and laying him on the bed.

Spiers spent the next few minutes forcing water down Carwood's throat and bundling him back in the blankets. When he was done, he sat by Carwood on the bed and placed his hand on the man's forehead, hoping to feel for a temperature. Of course, his next thought was to do what his mother had done to him when he was sick. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Carwood's forehead, feeling the fever but finding it not sufficient for a hospital trip. Carwood groaned and huddled in further, one stray hand pawing at Spiers' shirt.

"Go back to sleep," Spiers told him, planting a kiss on his forehead and standing back up. "I'll be around."

It took little deliberation for Spiers to begin untying his boots and slipping them off, laying on his back on the other side of the bed. He didn't imagine he would be getting a lot of sleep. Back in his army days, he had trained himself to wake up at the sound of trouble. He would be awake if Carwood so much as twitched in discomfort.

 

It was a hard night, filled with Spiers making trips to get Carwood medicine and water. At one point, he used the cold rag and it seemed to help, much as Lipton disliked having anything cold on his body. Spiers took no nonsense from him, though.

Morning came with a broken fever, though Carwood was still feeling under the weather. His skin was cooler and he was able to eat more of the soup than he had the night before. He tried to dismiss Spiers, but the man refused to leave until he was sure Carwood would survive on his own.

"Thank you," Carwood told him near noon the next day. Spiers was eating a sandwhich and Carwood was drinking another gatorade. "For taking care of me. You didn't have to do that."

"I told you," Spiers shrugged, his voice casual. "There was nothing more important."

 

Three days later, Spiers came down with a cough.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was it. I hope you guys like it and I will try not to let so much time go by for the next one. I hope that it was okay, I wasn't totally happy with it, but I felt I couldn't fix it. I've got two divorces in my family right now so I'm feeling a bit down about relationships. Regardless, for you all, I shall try. My next one will be a Webgott fic.
> 
> Once again, if needed for any reason you can contact me with the email on my profile. I'm glad that you guys read it and I hope that you enjoy it!


End file.
